Fay Foundation to fund trail study 10.10

Morenci city clerk/administrator Renée Schroeder has often thought about establishing a walking/running trail through Wakefield Park.

Although funding for such a project isn’t available now, her dream will at least get off the ground with the funding of an engineering study.

The Charles Fay Foundation approved a $5,000 grant to cover the cost of designing an exercise trail. Pollack Design Associates, a landscape architecture firm from Ann Arbor, was hired for the design work.

If a trail were to be constructed in the future, Schroeder said, city council would likely seek funding from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A DNR grant would, in turn, require matching funds from the city.

“Matching funds are not available now,” Schroeder said, “but they could be in the future. We have to get a plan ready in order to go to the state for a grant.”

A representative from Pollack visited the park twice in preparation for the project.